“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” A.W. Tozer
Return to love and justice
“So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.” (Hosea 12:6, ESV)
Things Seen are Transient
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16–18, ESV)
Choose life.
The Life in His Word.
Verse for Today
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. (Deuteronomy 30:15–16, ESV)
Verse for Today
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV)
Naaman and Simple Bible Messages of Whole Bible
Naaman was a mighty man and the head of Syria’s armies during the time of Elisha, successor to Elijah. He was also a leper. A five year-old slave girl taken from Israel was in his household and told him that Elisha could cure him. Naaman goes to Elisha, and Elisha tells him to dip himself in the Jordan seven times. At first, Naaman thought this was stupid and was enraged, because he had better rivers where he came from. He expected a dog and pony show from Elisha, maybe waving his hands around and calling on the name of his God. His servants encouraged him to listen to the man of God.
Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (2 Kings 5:13, NASB95)
Naaman humbled himself, did what the man of God said, and was healed.
I have been criticized because of my simple message – read the Word, and do it as if it was life. When I lead a Bible study, I usually use the Manna reading schedule and we read the 10 or 12 chapters first. We let God talk, and then if there’s any time left, we get to talk. This is not the extent of Bible reading for us all. It is just a touch point. We should be reading large chunks of the Book of Life every day, for it is our life. For something so simple though, we don’t do it. God’s Word has the answers to what might be bothering you. Much more than my words. Reading and heeding is simple, but many go away from me enraged and thinking they have better ways of doing things than that.
If I waved my hands around and told them to read the lousy ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ in the name of God, they would probably plunge right in. If I recommended any other book, it would probably be received the same way. ‘The Shack’ is a terrible book, but it has sold over 18 million copies. Telling people we just have to read His Word and do it angers people because they think they have all sorts of “better” books or videos or movies or whatever. But they aren’t reading the One Book that gives life. Hmm.
The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 12:1–2, ESV)
We are a rebellious house. God has taken great pains to provide us with a Book that conveys all of His Will for us at the moment, and we look down on it like Naaman looked down on the Jordan river. We want a dog and pony show to tickle our ears and amaze our eyes, like the latest blockbuster movie. We spend hours and hours every day doing what we want, watching what we want, and reading what we want. And we can’t spare a few moments for the living oracles of God?
Reading does not mean a couple verses posted on Facebook every once in a while either. Where is the heart of the new covenant in that? Read His whole Book, cover to cover. Then read it again. And again. Do what you read as best you are able. Devote yourself to finding and doing His Will, seek His Kingdom, and the other things you seek will be added. I could talk and wave my arms around until I’m blue in the face, and it wouldn’t come as close to helping as would one Word from Him. Stop rebelling against Him. Read His Word and do what you read. It’s simple.
I’m sorry I don’t have a flashy presentation that feeds the ego instead of the soul. I might be able to make a lot of money that way. But it’s better for all if we just use our eyes and ears, read what He tells us, and do it.
Teachings of Paul
‘Whole Bible Christianity,’ chapter 7, ‘Teachings of Paul’
If the Law had been ‘fulfilled,’ (twisted to mean ‘eliminated’) then the following is a very curious thing for Paul to say.
1It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. (1 Corinthians 5:1-2 NASB95)
Why would he care about a man who marries his stepmother? Wouldn’t all marriages be okay? According to the modern church, isn’t everything and everyone clean? Why would Paul appeal to the Law at all (Leviticus 18:8; Deuteronomy 22:30 and 27:30)? Why also would Paul appeal to the fact that this is something even Gentiles didn’t do?
There might be a thin argument here for the fictitious ‘moral law.’ Except how do we pick and choose what is ‘moral’ and what isn’t when God speaks? Isn’t everything He says by definition ‘moral?’ Could it be that the congregation had changed the law to say that ‘everything was clean?’ Were they perhaps practicing their ‘freedom in Christ?’
Paul doesn’t make up any new commandment here. He certainly doesn’t cherry-pick nor does he apply only the law he chooses. Not only does he say that the Corinthians should be following this Law, he implies it is a natural fact everyone (even the non-believing Gentiles) knows. In other words, God’s people should at least have the sense God gave a pagan. He also gives the punishment for the sin outlined in Torah (“remove the evil from your midst”). Later, it looks like they were “obedient in all things” (2 Corinthians 2:5-11).
Blog with Us
Hi Whole Bibler’s. We did not start the Whole Bible FB page solely to promote ourselves We did it to connect, to reach people, we want people to know and understand the fullness of God’s Word – which means putting obedience into practice as well. Any way – with that in mind we want to encourage people to use this page as more than just commenting on what we post – but sharing progress, encouragements and asking questions if you have them. Just like a message group site – we are more than happy to answer questions, or post them for others to bounce and share understandings and new learnings. If you don’t want to post your question, message us and we can present the question so that it doesn’t have to be broadcast who asked. We can make this page anything we want so lets do that!
Repentance
‘Whole Bible Christianity’ chapter 2, ‘Repentance’
Repentance and love for God go hand in hand. We can’t have one without the other. If we repent, we stop doing bad things and start doing good (1 Kings 8:47; 2 Chronicles 6:37; Job 42:6; Jeremiah 8:4-13; Ezekiel 14:6; Matthew 11:20, 21). The first recorded word out of the mouths of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2) and Jesus (Matthew 4:17) for their public ministries was ‘repent.’ If we are going the wrong way on a road, we would change directions once we realized our error.
‘Feeling sorry’ for what we have done or are doing, yet continuing to go the wrong way, is not repentance. It is certainly not love. A lot of times, ‘sorry’ feelings are very strong, to the point of weeping or other expressions of anguish. But the feelings are not true repentance if they don’t produce a change in behavior (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). True repentance is when we change what we are doing (Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8). We go from ignoring His Law to following it.
Biblically, repentance also means restitution. According to the Word, when a thief repents, not only must he stop stealing, but repay what he stole plus a penalty amount (Exodus 22:2, 7). Zacchaeus (Luke 19) restored four-fold what he might have defrauded, and gave half his goods to the poor. We do not follow through with this in modern times. A lot of times “feeling sorry” is the limit of repentance. But feelings of sorrow, by themselves, are not enough by God’s standards. If we repent, we make things right as much as we can.
10For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10 NASB95)